Coupling and aligning device



Patented Nov. 8, 1938 COUPLING AND ALIGNING DEVICE Mar shall Thomas Joseph Garlinger,

San Jose, Calif.

Original application January 29, 1936, Serial No. 61,387. Divided and this application June 13,

. 1936, SerialNo. 85,087

v 1 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to'improvements in a coupling and aligning device 'andtis divisional to my application, Serial Number filg38'7, filed January 29, 1936, on a Machine for laying: cable, pipe and the like.

In the latter application I described a cable laying outfit comprising a tractor or otherdraft means, a reel carrier and a cable laying machine adapted to draw a crevice through the earth surface, to feed the cable into the crevice, to cover the crevice over the cable andto tamp the coverage in a single and continuous operation.

After a complete reel has been fed into the ground in this manner it is necessary to disconnect the reel carrier from. the cable laying machine, to pull the carrier. toward a'new reel, to exchange the old reel for a new one, to manoeuvre the reel carrier back into operative proximity to the cable laying machine and tore-,- couple the same. i 1

V In view of the heavy weights involved and in view of the fact that in field operations the ground is always uneven and difficult to work on, the re-coupling is a difficult task, very time-consuming and accompanied by hazards for the operators. As a matter of: fact, ini-presenttfield operations, much more time is usually spent in a day's work on the re-coupling operations tha on the actual laying of the cable. I

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a coupling and aligning means which allows the re-couplingkto be effected expeditiously and without any hazards to the operators.

It is further proposed to provide a coupling and aligning means which ispower-operated or otherwise and which may use'the power of the tractor or other draft means for furnishing the power required.

More particularly it is proposed to combine an aligning means with the coupling means. whereby the reel carrier and the cable laying machine are first drawn toward one another and into alignment with one another until respective parts 'of the reel carrier and the cable laying machine have reached a desired relativeposition in which they may be readily coupled by the mere dropping of a locking element into place, either man ually or automatically.

It is further proposed to combine with the coupling and aligning means a cushioning means for absorbing shocks in the line of draft occasioned by unevennessand bumps and hollows in the road and also hidden buried objects and 'to provide means in connection witlrthe cushioning means for determining the intensity of the draft required for a particular operation.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the specification proceeds.

' The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 shows the cable laying outfit in side elevation.

Figure 2 shows a top plan View, on an enlarged scale, of my coupling and aligning means,

Figure 3 a side elevation of the same,

Figure 4 a transverse section taken along line 4-4 of Figure 2, and

Figure 5 a transverse section taken along line 5-5 of Figure. 2.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention I wish to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached without departing from the spirit of the invention. Particularly I wish to have it understood that while in the present specification I have described my coupling and aligning means in connection with a cable laying outfit, 'the'principles of the invention are not confined to this particu lar use and may be applied wherever two ap-' paratus are to be coupled, particularly under difficult conditions as are found in general field operations. 7 g

I Referring to the drawing in detail it will be noted that the cable laying outfit shown in Figure 1 consists of the tractor I; the reel carrier 2 and the cable laying machine 3. The latter'has been described in the parent application and is only briefly referred to herein as comprising a frame 4, a pair of wheels 5 supporting the same relativeto the earth surface, a subsoil cleaver 6 adjustable relative to the frame to draw a furrow or crevice through the earth surface, a feed tube 1 for guiding the cable 8 from the reel 9 to a point l0 at the rear end of the cleaver, back-filler blades l I for covering the furrow or crevice after the'cable has been laid and a roller l2 for tamping the coverage for the cable.

The frame 4 of the'cable laying machine includes two longitudinal beams l3 spaced from one another and extending through the machine in parallel relation. These beams are preferably made hollow and rectangular in cross-section and they are joined, at the front end, by the casting l4 which has flanges I5 straddling the beams and webs l6 lying against the inner faces of the beams and being secured thereto by means OI'bolts .11. The rear ends of these beams are held in fixed and spaced relation by means not shown in the drawing.

The casting is provided with a central conduit 18 which is circular in cross-section and has an outwardly flaring rounded front portion, as shown at I 9, adapted to receive the pin 20 projecting from a universal joint 2|, including a horizontal pivot 22 and a vertical pivot 23, the joint being part of the reel carrier.

The pin 20 terminates in a head 24. A chain 25 is secured to this head and is guided over a sheave 26 which is slantingly mo'untedon one of the beams l3 so that itsreceiving point is in alignment with the conduit I8. For coupling operations the free end of the chain 25 is connected by any suitable means as by the quick detachable joint 25 to the wire rope 21" wound on a winch 21 disposed on the tractor so that when the winch is turned by the power plant of the tractor, the two vehicles will be drawn together and will automatically align themselves due to the fact that first the chain and then the pin 20 are guided by the conduit I8.

Back of the casting M a transverse frame 28 is slidably mounted on the two frame beams I3 by means of top and bottom plates 29 and 30 riding on the top and bottom faces of the beams. Two vertical plates 3| project forwardly from the transverse plates spaced by a distance substantially equal to the diameter of the conduit l8 and are adapted to receive between the same the head 24 of the pin 20 which is followed by a round neck portion 32. The two vertical plates have inward projections or shoulders 33 at their forward extremities and when the head has ad vanced to the position shown in the drawing (Figure 2) a C washer 34 or the like, maybe dropped behind the head over the neck portion, either manually or automatically, for holding the head against withdrawal.

, The outer faces of the-vertical plates have flanges 35 curved to form beds for springs -36 and bent downward at their outer ends to bear against the main beams l3. 'The springs serve as cushioning means or members between the cable laying device and the draft vehicle and also indicate, by the extent of their compression, the resistance offered by the cable laying machine to the forward pull. A suitable instrument 3! of the dynamometer type may be used for translating the spring compression into terms of power used for advancing the machine which will lead to quick detection of abnormal conditions or ob'- stacles encountered by the plow or cleaver and also will be found useful in testing the power of any draft vehicle or means of draft.

The operation of my invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description. After the entire length of cable has been fed from a reel, the reel carrier is disconnected and'pulled bythe tractor to a place where a new reel may be substituted for the empty one. The reel carrier is then manoeuvred back into approximately the correct place for re-coupling, the chain 25 is guided through the conduit J8 and over the sheave 26 and is connected to the power winch 21. Upon application of power the pin 20 is drawn through the conduit l8, during which operation the reel carrier and the cable laying machine automatically align themselves, and after the pin 20 has reached the proper position it is locked by dropping the G washer 34 in position dynamometer 31, also unusual obstacles tobe .readily discovered and the condition of the draft means to be determined.

,It is apparent, that my coupling and aligning device maybe used inmany different situations and the present machinery is only referred to for the purposes of illustration.

It is also apparent'that the reel carrier and tractor which are here shown as two separate units, may be readily combined into one unit as shown in one of the modifications of the parent application.

I claim: I r

1. A coupling for two vehicles comprising a 7 horizontal conduit mounted longitudinally on one of the. vehicles, a pin having universal connection with the other vehicle and being movable through the conduit, a sheave mounted on the first vehicle in drafting alignment with the conduit, a power winch on the other vehicle and a flexible connection between the pin and the winch guided over the sheave whereby the vehicles are drawn together and the pin is made to pass through the conduit when the power winch is operated. V

2. A coupling for two. vehicles comprising a horizontal conduitmounted longitudinally on one of the vehicles, a pin having universal connection with the other vehicle and being movable through the conduit, a sheave mounted on the first vehicle in. drafting alignment with the conduit, a power winch on the other vehicle, a flexible connection between the pin and the winch guided over the sheave whereby the vehicles are drawn together and the pin is made to pass through the conduit when the power winch is operated, means for locking the pin relative to the first vehicle when the pin has reached an end position. a

3. A coupling for two vehicles comprising a conduit on one of the vehicles, a pin connected to the other vehicle, a sheave mounted on the first vehicle in drafting alignment with the conduit, a power winch on. the other vehicle, a flexible connection between the pin and the winch guided over the sheave whereby the vehicles are drawn together and the pin is made to pass through the conduit when the power winch is operated, means for locking the pin relative to the first vehicle when the pin has reached an end' position, the latter means including a cushioning means to absorb any shocks occasioned by a drafting effort of one vehicle or the other.

4. In combination with a vehicle having two spaced beams, a casting connecting the beams, a draft cushioning element comprising two transverse plates arranged to ride on the top and bottom'faces of the beams, two spaced longitudinal plates having means for securing a draft element thereto and a pair of springs arranged between the transverse plates of the cushioning element and the casting for cushioning the draft.

5. In combination with a vehicle having two spaced beams, a casting having top and bottom plates straddling the two beams, spacing plates lying against the inner faces of the beams and being secured thereto and a'cylindrical conduit in the space between the plates, and a draft cushioning element comprising two transverse plates arranged to ride on the top and bottom faces rearwardly of the casting, two spaced longitudinal plates forming a conduit substantially in alignment with the conduit of the casting and having means for securing a draft element thereto guided by the latter conduit and a pair of springs arranged between the transverse plates of the cushioning element and the casting for cushioning the draft.

6. A coupling for two vehicles comprising a cylindrical conduit on one of the vehicles, a cylindrical pin universally connected to the other vehicle and revolvable in the conduit, the pin having a head and a neck rearwardly of the head, a cushioning device slidable on the vehicle carrying the conduit and having a shoulder mounted in operative relation to the neck and a C washer between the shoulder and the head so as to straddle the neck and adapted to transmit motion from the pin to the cushioning device.

7. In combination, two spaced beams, a casting connecting the beams, a draft cushioning element having transverse plates arranged to ride on the top and bottom faces of the beams, spaced longitudinal plates on the cushioning element having means for securing a draft member thereto and having spring beds formed thereon, and springs disposed in the beds interposed for operation between the transverse plates of the cushioning element and the casting for cushioning the draft.

8. In combination, two spaced beams, a casting connecting the beams, a draft cushioning element having transverse plates arranged to ride on the top and bottom faces of the beams, spaced longitudinal plates on the cushioning element having means for securing a draft member thereto, the longitudinal plates having flanges thereon extended to slide on the inner surfaces of the beams and shaped to provide spring beds, and

springs disposed in the beds interposed for op- 

